EMG analysis of the influence of a water environment on the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's disease
Abstract
The main goal of the experiment was to compare electrical activity in selected muscle: m.tibialis anterior, m.gastrocnemius, m.rectus femoris, m.biceps femoris and mm.erectores spinae, at the Th/L transition level patients with Parkinson's disease when walking on dry land and in a water evironement, using surface electromyography. The experimental set consisted of five subjects, two men a three women, aged 67 +- 7,1.
A surface EMG was used to measure muscle activity in m.tibialis anterior, m.gastrocnemius, m.rectus femoris, m.biceps femoris and mm.erectores spinae, at the Th/L transition level. The resultant EMG signal was rectified and then the normalized muscle activity level was evaluated for walking in various enviroments: on dry and in water.
Results showed indentical normalized activity of monitored muscle in a water enviroment, which indicates a permanent effect of the pathological central programme accompanying Parkinson's disease, where the coordination pattern typical for a water enviroment fails to occur.